


At Sunrise

by noyabeans (snowdrops)



Series: Timeless [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Faeries - Freeform, Getting Together, Illnesses, M/M, Mages, Magic-Users, Vampires, Warlocks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 00:42:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10525317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowdrops/pseuds/noyabeans
Summary: Of almost losing, and truly losing.“Did you think I would replace you, Kageyama?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> _after all these years, is there someone who keeps you company?_
> 
> **Heed the tags and warnings!**

**19th century**

When Tobio opens his eyes, the first thing he becomes aware of is the sliver of light peeking in through the gap in the drawn window screen, shining a bright spot on his futon and providing just enough light for him to make out the blanket haphazardly strewn on the other futon lying on the ground near to him.

The second thing he notices is the smell of something delicious wafting in through the bedroom door. Hinata must have forgotten to shut it properly again, he grumbles as he blearily sits up. 

Exactly as he’s predicted, the bedroom door is slightly ajar as he pads out of the room. Hinata never remembers, no matter how many times Tobio reminds him. He isn’t even sure why he tries anymore, since it’s been a good six years since they started living together, but it seems to have become more force of habit than anything else. That’s always the case when it comes to Hinata - he grows on you, until it’s too late to pry him off.

Hinata’s humming something to himself when Tobio walks into the kitchen. Upon his entry, Hinata turns around, smiling as he calls out, “Morning, Kageyama!”

Not for the first time, Tobio thinks that it’s as though the sun has physically manifested itself in Hinata’s form. 

“Morning,” he says, much less enthusiastically. “You left the door open again.”

“Oh, I did?” Hinata grins, not looking the least bit guilty. “Sorry ‘bout that. We’re having sweet potatoes for breakfast! I got them at the market for cheap this morning.”

Tobio makes a non-committal sound of approval as he pulls out two sets of cutlery and plates to place on the small dining table. “Any new jobs today?”

“Nope.” Tobio can hear the pout in Hinata’s voice. The two of them make a living by taking up requests where they can put their magic to good use. It’s not a stable income, but it pays well at times, especially when they get a big job. Recently, however, they’ve been getting next to no jobs, and what little savings they have are fast depleting.

He sighs. _What to do, what to do_. Neither he nor Hinata are under protection of any mage clan or bard community, so they pretty much rely on each other for everything, and on occasion, Kuroo-san and Yaku-san, when the opportunity presents itself.

Sitting around doing nothing makes Hinata antsy though, so they’ve been spending more time helping out the neighbours, Asahi-san and Daichi-san, with their crops on the farm next door. While it’s mundane, it keeps them active, and Asahi-san is always nice enough to give them some leftover crops at the end of the day that they can cook for dinner, while Daichi-san helps them out whenever they need an extra hand.

But as it is, they’ve been over at the farm for the whole of last week. Both Tobio and Hinata need a change of pace.

“Let’s go visit Kuroo-san today,” Tobio says in between mouthfuls of sweet potato. “It’s been some time since we saw him.”

“Snhounhs khood,” Hinata says around his sweet potato. Tobio takes whatever mangled words he’s just said and assumes that he meant ‘sounds good’.

“Stop talking with your mouth full, dumbass.”

Hinata very rudely opens his mouth to show Tobio its half-chewed contents; Tobio is thoroughly disgusted. It’s hard to remember sometimes that Hinata is supposed to be three times Tobio’s age, because more often than not Tobio’s quite sure that he’s living with a slightly overgrown child.

* * *

Kuroo-san’s in as good a mood as ever when they arrive. “Yo, grumps and chibi-chan! Long time no see!”

Both Tobio and Hinata have grown accustomed to the nicknames in the five years since they first met Kuroo-san - or Kuroo, as the warlock’s requested them to drop the honorific time and time again - and they find themselves being ushered into his spacious mansion without further preamble.

Kenma’s sitting at the low table, hunched over something.

When Kuroo approaches, Tobio and Hinata in tow, the vampire looks up to give a quiet nod in greeting, even as Hinata skips towards him with a cheerful, “What’s up, Kenma!”

Tobio, for his part, only returns the nod and adds, “Hi.”

When they’re right in front of Kenma, Tobio realises that he’s staring intently at a Go board, where a game is currently in play.

As Kuroo bustles off to the kitchen, saying something about getting them drinks, Hinata’s already plopping himself onto the canape behind Kenma to peer over his shoulder at the stones on the board.

Tobio hesitates before he follows suit, nudging Hinata to move over on the canape so that he can sit down as well, and then observing the board from where he’s sitting with interest. While he’s curious about what Kenma’s doing - Hinata and him play on occasion, but Hinata downright sucks at the game - he’s not entirely sure Kenma’s comfortable with both of them breathing down his neck.

“Kenma, you’re playing white, right?” Hinata asks, out of the blue.

Kenma tenses a bit; Tobio can see the way the arch of his spine goes taut for a moment, before he relaxes and murmurs softly, “Yeah.”

“What are you doing? Why’s this piece so far from that? What’s Kuroo-san trying to do?”

The questions come a mile a minute, as Hinata is wont to do when he gets interested in something. Tobio thinks he should dig Hinata in the side to make him shut up, because Kenma’s _focusing_ , idiot, but Kenma starts talking.

His voice is gentle, soothing even, as he explains the rationale for his play, and what Kuroo’s trying to do, and before he knows it Tobio’s been drawn in to what he’s saying as well. It’s a very complicated set-up that Kenma’s in the midst of building on the board, but it’s, frankly, _genius_.

“How did you think of that? It’s amazing,” he blurts, staring at the stone that Kenma’s gripping between his fingers.

Kenma’s ears pinken and he continues staring at the board, before saying, “I don’t know. It’s boring here, so sometimes I try to play against myself to kill time and think of new ways to win.”

Kuroo comes back then with two steaming cups. “I heard everything, Kenma,” he grins as he places them gingerly on the table top, away from the Go board. “I know your secret now.”

Kenma huffs and looks away, but there’s an unmistakable note of pride when he mutters, “You knowing my secret doesn’t mean you know how to work around it, anyway.”

“Not now, yeah,” Kuroo acquiesces easily, seating himself on the opposite side of the board from Kenma. “But I’ve got a long time to learn.”

* * *

Later, when they’re about to leave Kuroo’s house, Hinata suddenly asks: “Has Yaku-san been by recently?” 

Kuroo taps his chin at the question, before a wide smile spreads slowly across his face. “Nope. He told me the last time that he’d probably drop by sometime this month, though. For all I know, he might be by tomorrow.”

"Oh! If he comes by any time soon, tell him to come visit us! Kageyama and I are so bored at home," Hinata says, and Tobio takes a moment to marvel at how he went from enthusiastic to peeved in a matter of moments.

"Yeah, that's the tenth time you've told me that this past hour," Kuroo says in mild amusement, reaching out a hand to ruffle Hinata's hair lightly; Hinata makes an indignant face in response. "You can always drop by here more if you're that bored, you know."

"The journey's so long," Hinata pouts. "You know both of us don't have any means of transport besides our legs, right?"

Tobio snorts. "It's not my fault that your legs are short."

"Hey, that's rude, Bakageyama!"

Kuroo only chuckles, and they exchange a few more words before waving Kuroo and Kenma goodbye, both Hinata and Tobio fervently thanking him for the dinner that he cooked.

* * *

"I hope we get something to do tomorrow," Hinata says into the darkness sometime later, when they're each lying down on their futons in the room. "Maybe we'll get some huge exorcism job like the last one!" 

"Mm," Tobio mumbles, distracted. His stomach has been feeling slightly queasy since they got back home, and he's still waiting for the calming spell to kick in. With luck, he'll be able to sleep the discomfort off, because unfortunately, spells don't heal illnesses and treat diseases. "Go to bed, Hinata."

Hinata mutters a few more quiet complaints, but eventually the room descends into silence, and Tobio's stomach settles down enough for him to fall into a restless sleep.

* * *

Tobio isn't so much woken up the next day as he is jolted awake by the sudden taste of bile rising in his throat. He has barely enough presence of mind to make a beeline for the outhouse, before he's throwing up. 

It's awful, but his stomach feels a tad calmer when his body finally stops heaving with the effort of throwing up. Maybe something was bad in the food yesterday, he muses as he gargles his mouth with a bucket of clean water. Hopefully this would have cleared out whatever toxins there were.

When he returns to the house, Hinata has just stumbled out of bed, all sleepy-eyed and groggy as he blinks at Tobio in his early morning confusion.

"Wow, you're up early," he yawns, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he does so.

Tobio contemplates not telling him about throwing up, since it's probably nothing, but decides on it, because the outhouse stinks despite all his best attempts to use scent-improving spells.

"I threw up right after I woke up," he says, "I'm airing the outhouse now."

Hinata's brows immediately pull together in concern. "What happened to you?"

Tobio shrugs. "Must've been something bad yesterday. It should be fine now, though."

Hinata gives him another doubtful look, but doesn't say anything more as he shuffles to the kitchen.

* * *

After breakfast, Tobio feels the uncomfortable sensation of his stomach beginning to churn again, and practically runs back to the outhouse. Thankfully, the smell's cleared out - but not for long, because next thing he knows, he's emptying his bowels into the toilet. 

To his horror, whatever he's passed out looks like a white mush. He's never seen anything like it before. Just then, Hinata knocks on the door of the outhouse - "Oi, Kageyama, are you alive?!"

"Fine," Tobio grinds out, casting another worried look at the contents in the toilet. "Hinata, have you ever heard of white poop?"

"Ha? Have you lost your mind? What the hell's white poop?" Hinata's confusion is loud and clear from beyond the wood of the outhouse door.

"I dunno, it's white and gross. Doesn't even look like poop to me, actually." Tobio frowns, before flushing the toilet. He washes his hands again, and opens the door to Hinata's concerned face.

"Do you want me to ask Kuroo-san? I could probably ask one of the birds to help me send a message to him."

Tobio shakes his head. Hinata’s mentioned on more than one occasion that the birds are temperamental at best and unhelpful at worst. It’ll be more trouble than it’s worth. "I'll be fine."

* * *

It isn't fine, as it turns out. He tries to take a nap, and manages to sleep until dinnertime. He only manages to eat half a sweet potato at Hinata's insistence, before dragging himself back to the outhouse to throw up.

Tobio's sure he's never felt this sick before. They don't keep medicine in their house, because it's expensive and they don't even fall sick that often in the first place - hell, he can’t remember Hinata falling ill, _ever_ \- but right now, he can't help regretting that there’s nothing he can take to ease the pain.

* * *

"Kageyama!"

Hinata's frantic voice drags him back to consciousness in the middle of the night; Tobio opens his eyes to see Hinata inches away from his own face, eyes blown wide. He can feel something wet around him when he moves, and with a groan he realizes that he's somehow managed to soil himself in his sleep.

"Kageyama, you're breathing funny and white poop isn't normal," Hinata says, practically pleading as he kneels next to Tobio's futon. "Can we please go to Kuroo-san? You're scaring me, I don't want to wake up to a dead person on your futon tomorr-"

He cuts himself off, eyes wide, but Tobio only registers the words as though they are being spoken to him underwater. Everything feels funny, and he feels light-headed. 

"Mmm’ay," he manages to slur. "K'ro-san."

* * *

He isn't sure of the specifics, but he has the vaguest sensation of his clothes being changed and him being deposited somewhere that doesn't feel as disgusting and wet as before.

When he wakes up, it's to a face that is clearly not Hinata. "Oh, you're awake," Kuroo says, but his face belies his light tone. He's frowning.

"I'll be frank, I have no idea what you're suffering from," he says, running a hand through his hair. "I've never seen anything like it. It might have been an imported disease or something. Hinata told me that you ate with him at a market the day before you visited me, so you might have picked it up from the food there.

"Anyway, I'm trying to make a concoction that will hopefully help with your symptoms and help you recover, so bear with the pain for a bit."

Forcing his body to move through the stiffness that seems to have captured Tobio's limbs is a Herculean effort, but he manages to nod.

A while later, Hinata comes back in with a dark-coloured liquid in a ceramic bowl. Tobio eyes it suspiciously, but is too tired to protest as Hinata slowly feeds it to him, spoonful by spoonful. At this point of time, he'll try anything if it works.

* * *

It doesn't work. Tobio feels himself slip in and out of consciousness - at one time, when he is half-awake, he hears Hinata asking, panickedly: "What do you mean it's not working?! What do you mean he's dying?!"

He wants to get up and tell Hinata he's not dying, he's not going anywhere, because if he dies who is going to take care of Hinata? However, the lead in his body decides otherwise; he can't even move an inch.

Time passes in a mess of diarrhea, diarrhea, and more diarrhea, so much that he can feel how parched his throat is. No matter how much water or liquid he can feel is being fed to him, it doesn't seem to be anywhere near enough.

Then there's another voice, brusque but calm. It sounds familiar, like something Tobio heard a long time ago. The voice comes closer to him; he catches random words like _dehydrating_ and _zinc_ and _medicine_ and _water_ and feels a cool, smooth surface on his forehead before it is taken away and the voice disappears.

* * *

The next moment of lucidity he has is when he recognises the unidentified stranger as Yaku. He's wearing a piece of cloth across his mouth as he murmurs something to Kuroo, his hair pushed back as he stares at a piece of paper.

Kuroo, for his part, is nodding quietly and throwing some things into a pot. There's a strange smell wafting out of it, and Tobio wonders if this will be the cure that finally does something.

* * *

It’s a strange dream that he has. He’s standing on a cliff, looking out over the horizon - the expanse of sky is boundless, and beneath him he can see waves lapping at the cliff face. The wind is blowing, playing with his hair. 

There’s a shuffle behind him. It sounds like Hinata’s calling his name, but the syllables are drowned out by the wind. Tobio turns, searching for Hinata, because surely that was Hinata calling him.

There’s a wail, a _Kageyama!_ , but it’s garbled and warbly and doesn’t really sound like Hinata. He’s about to take a step back from the edge of the cliff so that he can go look for that stupid pint-sized midget, when a sudden strong gust of wind howls and hits him straight in the gut.

He feels, before he sees, himself lose balance as his feet are knocked out from under him, and only vaguely registers the sound of yelling and screaming.

That is definitely Hinata, Tobio thinks.

His arms flail in vain; he can feel himself falling, almost slipping off the edge of the cliff. But then there’s a warmth gripping at his wrist, and the force of his motion stops.

He looks up into warm brown eyes filled with an emotion that Tobio, for lack of a better word, labels as “fear”.

Taking a gulp of air to calm himself somewhat, never mind that he can see the rolling waves battering the cliff underfoot, and that somewhere in the distance storm clouds can be seen, he tries to reach out his other hand towards Hinata.

The moment Hinata touches his free hand, his grip hard enough to bruise, Tobio’s hurtling into darkness.

* * *

Tobio wakes up feeling a bit better. He's still weak, but he doesn't feel like he's on the verge of tipping over into blackness every waking moment now, and as far as he can tell he doesn't feel like throwing up or running to the toilet anymore.

Yaku walks in then, still with the cloth across his mouth. Now that Tobio is more awake, he can see that there's something blue wrapping his hands as well, and wonders what it's for.

"Kageyama-kun!" Yaku says when he notices that Tobio's awake. "Oh, thank god."

"What happened?" Tobio's voice sounds rough and hoarse, and he winces at the way the words grate against each other.

Yaku's picking up a vial of liquid, which he brings over to Tobio's bed. Tobio's lips part obediently enough for him to pour the liquid into his mouth - it stings, and it's bitter, but Tobio swallows it down with the water that Yaku feeds him next.

"You were this close to dying," Yaku says, pulling his index finger and his thumb together.

"What disease was it?"

Yaku’s nose scrunches. "Cholera. Infection of the intestine. I think you might have gotten it by eating something contaminated. It's beginning to spread across the world now, so the disease is unknown and the treatment technique is still wonky. I had to go to the future to nick some medication from the healers."

Tobio grimaces, suddenly reminded that Yaku had definitely not intended to come here to play doctor. Yaku usually visits in between missions, so technically he’s not even on duty now, and yet - "Sorry for the inconvenience, Yaku-san. Weren't the faeries available?"

"Nah, it's no big deal," Yaku flashes a grin before his smile turns wry. "Fukurodani's under seige by a rival clan, Itachiyama. Apparently they've been at war for quite some time now, so Kuroo couldn't go to Bokuto for help." 

Then his gaze slides back to Tobio's face and he says, gentler, "Hinata's hardly had any sleep. You were on the brink for almost two days."

At the mention of Hinata, the contents of Tobio's dream suddenly return to him in full clarity. Hinata, yelling his name, holding on to his hand, the wind gusting in his ear threatening to throw him off the edge of the cliff -

"Hinata," he says. "He wasn't affected? By the illness? We eat all our meals together."

Yaku shakes his head. "He didn’t have any traces of cholera in his system. I think it might be because of his faerie blood."

"Oh." Tobio sinks back into quiet thought. There it is again - the ever-present reminder that Hinata and him are fundamentally different beings.

It brings to mind the niggling question he’s been wanting to ask for quite some time. He wasn’t planning on asking it like this, in the state he’s in, but now’s as good a time as any; he doubts he’ll get much time away from Hinata to ask Yaku in the foreseeable future.

"Yaku-san?"

"Yeah?" 

"Can I ask you something? About... the future?"

At the question, Yaku's face clouds over. "I can’t promise I’ll give you an answer, but what do you want to know?"

"Hinata..." Tobio pauses and fumbles for the words, tries to string them together as coherently as he can. "He- does he- does he find someone in the future?"

Yaku's brown eyes are piercing. "Why do you ask?"

Tobio feels his cheeks heat up slightly. "I- I can't stand the thought of him being left alone after... after I'm gone."

There's a quivering silence in the room, before Yaku’s eyes soften and he says, "Yeah, he does. He's happy in the future, if that’s what you’re asking."

It feels like someone's stabbed Tobio in the chest with a stake, but he leans his head back onto his pillow. "I see."

* * *

It's three more days before Tobio feels well enough to move around by himself. To his embarrassment, Hinata fusses over him all day, as do Kuroo and Yaku. On more than one occasion, he wakes up in the middle of the night to find Kenma hunched over in the chair next to his bed, reading some kind of book or other.

Kuroo insists that Tobio stay at his house until he can eat a whole meal by himself, and Yaku backs him up. And while Tobio might be able to say no to Kuroo, he can’t do the same to Yaku, so he accepts his fate. It’s not that bad, after all - Hinata’s here with him, and they’re among good company.

As the days pass and he gets steadily better, he finds himself almost unwilling to leave when Kuroo finally pronounces him healthy enough to go back home one week later. Yaku’s made sure that Daichi-san and Asahi-san’s water supplies aren’t contaminated, and he’s given both Tobio and Hinata instructions on what to do should anyone come to them for help with symptoms matching those of cholera. It’s more than anything Tobio should have the right to ask for.

At the door of Kuroo’s house, Tobio drops into a deep bow to both Kuroo and Yaku.

* * *

_“He’s happy in the future.”_

The words have been playing on endless loop since Tobio got back home. Of course, he’s always known that he’ll die one day, and Hinata will keep on living, but he hasn’t really spared it much thought.

Not really, until now.

The Cholera Incident, as Hinata has taken to calling it, has driven home what Tobio has been trying to ignore: his own mortality.

Maybe he should be taking small comfort in what Yaku’s told him. That Hinata finds a companion after he’s gone, that Hinata isn’t alone, that there’s someone to take care of Hinata when Tobio’s not there - but.

The thought that Hinata finds someone to replace him sits bitter on the back of his tongue. He’s asking for the impossible, Tobio knows, but he can’t stand the thought of Hinata maybe, one day, forgetting about him.

Hinata has been part of Tobio’s life since they met when he was eighteen. He’ll be part of the rest of Tobio’s life, but Tobio?

But Tobio will only be part of Hinata’s life for - a fleeting fifty years at best. And then Hinata will move on, get over Tobio, continue living. And that’s what Tobio wants, but he hates it too. Hates it that Hinata will keep living without him.

His fingers curl into the thin sheets of his futon in frustration. Barely an arm’s length away from him, Hinata lets out a little snore.

* * *

The next day is Saturday, which means market day. The market in town is always buzzing with activity on Saturdays, but today the atmosphere seems a little more sober than usual.

News of a mysterious disease in the neighbouring town has spread throughout the community, of people throwing up and getting diarrhea and then dying within hours. Kuroo and Yaku have been kept busy this past week, putting up notices instructing the people to boil their water before they drink or eat anything and offering aid to those who approach them - it’s a stroke of good luck that Kuroo has a good name in the village, and that the villagers actually do listen to him.

A glint of sunlight off something shiny in a shop catches Tobio’s attention. A closer look reveals a long thin chain, with something hanging on it.

“I’m going into that shop, meet you next to the fishmonger’s later,” he mutters to Hinata, whose attention is fully on a paper fan seller who’s enthusiastically telling him _why_ he should get this paper fan that’s only found in this particular part of the country-

Distracted, Hinata nods.

The shop is quaint and small, the shopkeeper an old man with white hair and a wizened face. He hobbles over to welcome Tobio, and nods in understanding when Tobio gestures at the pendant he’d noticed from the street. 

It’s small, made of some kind of metal and attached to a long chain. “Faerie metal,” the shopkeeper explains, voice hushed in the quiet of the shop.

Tobio looks at it, fingering the edges of the pendant as he considers the price that the shopkeeper quotes. Ever since he recovered enough to move around unassisted, he’s been thinking of getting something that Hinata can keep even after he’s gone. It’ll be little comfort to Hinata, probably, but it’ll be _something_. Something more lasting than a wooden house and a rolled-up futon.

He walks out of the shop a while later, pendant and chain wrapped safely into a paper bag in his coat pocket.

* * *

“What did you buy?” Hinata asks, bounding up to him a while later, paper bags in hand. The end of a bread loaf sticks out of one of them.

“I’ll show you later,” he says, turning on his heel in the direction of their house. The market’s too loud, too noisy for him to give the pendant to Hinata. Sure, he doesn’t need a quiet place to give it to Hinata, but it seems… better if he could give it to Hinata personally, somewhere where it’s just the two of them-

There’s a soft _Hmph_ from Hinata, but the other quickly matches his strides, chattering away about how he saw these really fresh tomatoes but he wasn’t sure if they were clean and he doesn’t really want to take the risk until they’ve made sure the water supplies aren’t contaminated and did you know that Miyuki-san’s getting married? Suzumeda-san told me when I was in the watch shop!

It’s all very mundane, and all very normal. It feels like The Incident is a thing of the distant past.

* * *

Tobio almost forgets about the pendant, tucked away in his coat pocket as it is, until he’s hanging his coat up to air as Hinata takes his shower after dinner.

He fishes it out, letting the thin silver chain fall like liquid metal into his palm, watching how the it catches the moonlight by the window. Something twists inside of him - an indescribable feeling of _longing_ and _want_ and the crushing knowledge of _impossible_.

Wrapping his hand around the chain and pendant, he breathes out a single word, feeling the thrum of magic rush into it.

Then the silent reverie he’s fallen into breaks, interrupted by the quick thudding of footsteps as Hinata comes back down the hall.

Hinata stops when he enters the room, eyes bright from the light streaming in as his gaze falls onto Tobio. Kneeling in the pool of moonlight as he is, Tobio wonders what kind of sight he makes.

He gets to his feet, and meets Hinata’s eyes wordlessly.

“Kageyama?” Hinata whispers, and his words are hushed, as though he is fearful of shattering glass. “What are you-”

“Hinata,” Tobio says. The word comes out stronger than he expects them to. He gets to his feet, and suddenly the distance between Hinata and him seems so vast and immense, so unbreachable -

Hinata takes one step towards him, then another, closing the gap, and then he’s peering up at Tobio, staring at Tobio, as though looking into Tobio’s soul.

“You’re being weird, Kageyama,” Hinata says, cocking his head to a side. “Are you running a fever?" 

“No,” Tobio snaps instinctively, hand tightening around the silver chain still in his palm. “I.”

Hinata’s still looking at him, and Tobio doesn’t know what else to say, so he says, “Open your hand and close your eyes.”

“Huh? You gonna hold it, or what?” Hinata squawks, but there’s something in his eyes that Tobio can’t quite read, so Tobio kicks him. “Ow, what the hell, Kageyama!”

He obliges Tobio’s request anyway, and Tobio drops the chain and pendant straight into it. 

The moment the cool metal hits his palm, Hinata’s eyes shoot open, darting once to the chain before going back to Tobio. “What?” 

“What?”

“What’s this for?”

Tobio swears he can feel his brain screech to a painful halt at the question, because he doesn’t really know the answer to it except - “For you.”

Hinata openly gapes at him then, confusion written clearly in the crinkles by his eyes and the scrunch of his nose. “You’re definitely running a fever. Do you need medicine? Should we go back to Kuroo-san’s? Do you want a glass of wat-”

Tobio tunes him out. Hinata’s rambling because he’s nervous, because he’s in an unfamiliar situation, and Tobio wants to tell him, something, _anything,_ but words are failing him right when he needs them most.

At a loss, the only way that he can think of to shut Hinata up is to… quite literally, take things into his own hands.

Stretching out a hand and resting it behind Hinata’s neck, he bends down, bringing his face level with Hinata’s. The movement essentially cuts Hinata off where he was midway through a tirade about taking Tobio’s temperature, but no matter.

He hesitates for a moment, fleeting and short, feeling the warmth of Hinata’s breath on his cheek. Hinata is stock-still as he presses their dry lips together.

Somehow, the motion itself hurts, like there’s a hot iron brand against his chest, killing him slowly from the inside out. That he wants to say _so much_ but can’t bring himself to.

Hinata is unmoving when he pulls away, regret already threatening to rush over him at his impulsiveness and foolishness. What did he do _that_ for, what the fuck -

Then Hinata pulls him back down again, hot breath against his lips the only warning Tobio gets before Hinata actually smashes their lips together, dragging a choked gasp out of Tobio because suddenly Hinata is _everywhere_ and all Tobio can feel is _Hinata_ , all his senses overwhelmed by the heat of Hinata’s body and Hinata’s mouth and Hinata’s everything.

There’s a wet _pop_ of lips when they finally disentangle themselves. Tobio’s cheeks are on fire; it's a look mirrored on Hinata’s.

“What was that for, Kageyama?” Hinata says then, sounding breathless. “I don't get it, what's this all about? You’ve been weird all day.”

Still recovering from the shock of the kiss, Tobio feels the ragged laugh leave his lips. Somehow, he feels a bit lighter now.

“Hinata,” he says, bending over so that his chin rests on Hinata’s forehead. Hinata’s head shifts a little at the movement, but he stills when Tobio drops a hand to the small of his back.

“This is ridiculous,” Tobio can’t help huffing. “I keep… I keep thinking about how close to death I was.”

Hinata wriggles at the words, squirming out of Tobio’s reach so that he can face him head-on. “So _this_ is what it’s about,” he says, pointing an accusing finger at Tobio. Tobio blinks at him.

“You’ve been,” Hinata bites his cheek and blurts, “ _weird_. Like Not-Kageyama!”

Tobio squints at him in suspicion.

“You’ve been so caught up in your thoughts recently, I was wondering what happened. Let me guess, you’re scared of dying, aren’t you?”

“...You’re not wrong.”

“But I’m not right,” Hinata insists. “So what is it that’s been scaring you?”

Tobio frowns. It’s simple, but getting the words out of his mouth isn’t.

Drawing on whatever frail reserves of confidence he has left, he says, “I’m scared of you f-forgetting me.” There, he's said it. No going back now.

Hinata’s quiet. Tobio faintly registers him curling his fingers into Tobio's own, his eyes trained on the chain he holds in his other hand, before he murmurs after what seems like an indefinite period of silence.

“So that's what it is, huh.”

He sounds thoughtful.

“Did you think I would replace you, Kageyama?”

Tobio's fingers tighten around Hinata’s, and Hinata lets out a soft laugh. He looks back up at Tobio; in the dim light, his eyes are like glowing embers.

“I don't think,” Hinata says, the words catching in his throat. “I don't think I would ever forget you.”

* * *

 The room is still cast in pitch darkness when Tobio wakes up. Hinata is warm next to him where he’s all but curled himself up to Tobio, having snatched all of the blankets off Tobio in his sleep. Tobio rolls his eyes, and tries to nick it back, but the movement causes Hinata to stir - right, he’s always been a light sleeper, Tobio still hasn’t quite noted that fact down yet.

“‘bio?” he mumbles, voice thick. “Whu’timzit?”

“Too early to be awake,” Tobio replies, lips twitching against his own volition. “The sun’s not even up yet.”

He’s about to tuck himself back down, feeling slightly guilty that he’s woken Hinata up, when Hinata _shoots_ out of bed.

“Let’s go watch the sunrise on the rooftop!”

For someone who’s been awake for less than five minutes, Hinata sure does sound chirpy. Tobio groans. “No.”

“Come _on_ , Kageyama!”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“I hate you,” Tobio grumbles as Hinata wraps cold hands around his own. Nonetheless, he extricates himself from the warmth of his blankets to take Hinata’s hand.

 

It’s chilly on the rooftop, the faintest shades of pink and red barley beginning to blotch the sky. They’re huddled close together, wrapped up in their thickest coats and kept warm by Tobio’s heating spell.

“Why are we here?” Tobio yawns after five minutes, and Hinata swats at him lightly.

“To watch the sunrise, don’t be _mean_ , Kageyama!”

“Leave me out next time.”

“That’s _mean_.”

“Too bad, suck it up.”

“Hey! Take that back!”

In the midst of their bickering, the sky has begun to clear, reddish hues filling up the expanse of sky they can see from here. The eastern horizon has begun to lighten, the sun slowly coming into view.

“Hey, the sun’s out!” Hinata shouts the obvious, as usual. And where others would be watching the sun rise, Tobio looks at Hinata instead.

He’s wearing a triumphant grin and practically glowing like a mini-sun himself. It feels magical.

 

“Ka-ge-ya-ma-”

A hand shoots out and punches the offending noise square in the face. Tobio sighs - it’s too early to deal with Hinata.

When he opens his eyes, an action that is very much against his will, he’s looking into two bright amber ones, so close to him that he can see his sleepy self reflected in them.

“Sleep well?” Hinata asks, sitting back on his heels and grinning at him, like he had in Tobio’s dream.

Snippets and images flit through his mind, the feeling of warmth like sunshine on his skin, the hardness of some surface under his feet, but the concrete details are slipping through his fingers, carried away by his waking thoughts like sand on the wind.

He snorts. “Would have slept better if someone hadn’t decided to wake me up at hell o’ clock.”

Laughing, Hinata shoves him. “Oh, shut up.”

* * *

 

The evening sun is spilling red on the ground outside their house when Yaku tells them that he’s returning to the future.

It’s expected, really - Yaku’s stayed for almost three weeks. While Tobio does enjoy his company, he knows that Yaku doesn’t belong _here_. Kuroo looks more than aware of that too; his expression barely changes when the words leave Yaku’s lips. Tobio wonders if he’d been expecting the announcement, or if Yaku had told him beforehand.

Kuroo’s talking to Kenma and Hinata when Yaku strides over to him, hands tucked firmly into his loose pockets. His slight frame casts a long shadow on the ground outside Tobio and Hinata’s small abode.

“Kageyama-kun,” Yaku says quietly. “I don’t know how long it’ll be before we meet again.” He pauses, as though sifting through his mind for the correct words to say. “Just… Take good care of yourself and Hinata, and go to Kuroo if you ever need help.”

Tobio nods, feeling his throat constrict strangely. “Y-Yeah, I will.”

Yaku gives him an encouraging smile and is about to turn away, probably to walk towards Kuroo, when Tobio clears his throat. “Yaku-san?”

He stops mid-turn, casts his eyes up at Tobio in surprise.

“Thank you.”

Yaku shakes his head. “There’s nothing to thank me for.”

Tobio is sure he’s imagining the slight downward curl of Yaku’s lips.

* * *

 

Tobio's head is throbbing slightly when he gets home from the farm.

It's probably the weather: it's the hottest summer they've had in the five years since Daichi-san and Asahi-san handed their farm over to Shouyou and him when they moved away.

Tobio's spent the whole day in the sun trying to find a spell that can repel rats from the crops while Shouyou went to the library to search for non-magical ways to get rid of rats - there's been an huge increase in the rat population lately, and they've been invading the rice fields. If they can't find a long-term solution, their only source of income is ruined.

"I'm back," he calls, and is answered by the sound of thundering footsteps rushing towards him. Bracing himself, he barely manages to catch the cannonball that is Shouyou and stumbles under his weight.

"Oi, what the hell, are you trying to kill me?" Tobio says when he's regained his footing, trying his best to sound as fierce as he can but knowing full well that he's failing. "I told you not to do that."

Shouyou grins and reaches up to give him a quick peck on the lips, before leaning back so that he can look up at Tobio. "I missed you," he says in earnest.

The smile that spreads across Tobio's face is entirely involuntary. "I know, I missed you too."

He pauses, scrunching up his nose as he looks at Shouyou. "But you're heavy. Get off."

Shouyou huffs a little but unlatches himself from where his legs are wrapped around Tobio's waist. As he lands neatly on the ground, the pendant swings out from where it’s hanging on his neck. "Dinner's ready."

Sure enough, the smell of vegetables and meat is wafting out of the kitchen as they walk through the hallway of the house. It smells good.

Right before entering the kitchen, though, Tobio stops to grab the box of medicine that Yaku left with them the last time he visited a couple of years ago. "My head hurts a bit," he says in way of explanation to Shouyou's worried glance. "I think it was the sun."

Shouyou nods. "Yaku said you should take p-p-parasel? parasol? when you have a headache. He left us a lot, actually, but we never used any of it."

"Just as well that you can't fall sick, huh," Tobio smirks. Shouyou bats at him, before slotting his hand into Tobio's and dragging him into the kitchen, where the food's been set out.

"So, how's the spell?" Shouyou asks between bites of rice and vegetable. "I didn't find anything useful besides cats, traps and poison."

Tobio takes a swig from his glass of water, before carefully saying, "I think I managed to do it."

There's a definite hint of smugness in his voice, but that's to be expected - he's spent a full week trying to tweak the spell to perfection.

Shouyou leaps up, and practically flings himself at Tobio.

"I knew you could do it!" he yells too loudly in Tobio's ear, suddenly a buzz of excitement as he bounces on the balls of his feet. "You're really awesome, Tobio."

"Uh," Tobio says intelligently. Living with Shouyou for so long still hasn't made him any better at responding to praise. "Thanks."

With another huge grin, Shouyou sits back down at the table, gobbling down the rest of his meal.

Tobio, who's almost done by now, grabs the medicine box and slowly picks through the packets of medicine inside. They're covered with printed words, in a language that Tobio doesn’t understand, but Yaku has labelled each of the packets neatly by hand:

  * pseudoephedrine (runny nose, take one three times a day)
  * domperidone (nausea, take one three times a day)
  * guaifenesin (cough, take a spoonful every four hours)
  * paracetamol (headache, fever, take one three times a day)
  * gentamicin (antibiotic, take two spoonfuls every eight hours)



Tobio takes a moment to thank the heavens for Yaku’s generosity and kindness, before turning his attention back to the medicine in front of him.

Para...Paracetamol must be the one that Shouyou was talking about earlier, so Tobio pulls the packet out. He pops one of the pills out and gulps it down; even with the water, he can taste its bitterness.

Shouyou's watching him keenly when he sets the glass back onto the table.

"I'll be fine," Tobio says. Shouyou's always been one to worry, ever since The Cholera Incident, even though that's fifteen years in the past now. "I promise."

Shouyou's eyes crinkle. "I know."

* * *

 

Even though his limbs feel a bit heavier than usual the next day, Tobio heads off to the farm  after taking another dose of paracetamol, Shouyou calling after him, "Come back if you're too tired, I'm gonna be at home all day!"

His head starts throbbing again halfway through the morning, so he decides to head home at noon. Besides, the spell seems to be doing its job, and he can afford to get some rest.

Shouyou's slumped on the sofa in the living room when he enters the house, and stirs only when Tobio's in front of him. It's hot. Judging from the books strewn across the floor, Shouyou must have been really bored. Tobio doesn't blame him; he'd have been too.

"Tobio?" Shouyou murmurs sleepily as Tobio settles down next to him, his weight causing the upholstery of the sofa to sink. "You’re early."

"Headache," Tobio says, pulling Shouyou flush against himself. "Why are you sleeping here, go to bed."

"Wanted to wait for you," Shouyou says, sitting up and yawning. "Does it hurt bad? Should we go to Kuroo?"

"Nah, it's fine."

Shouyou shoots him a look of undisguised concern, and Tobio feels his stomach flip.

"Really," he says, trying to sound reassuring. "I'll take Yaku's medicine. If it still hurts tonight we can go over to Kuroo's place, okay?"

Seemingly persuaded, Shouyou nods and curls up against him. "Go get your medicine then let's take an afternoon nap, Tobio. We haven't done that in aaaaages."

Tobio snorts. "So whiny."

It doesn't stop him from obliging Shouyou anyway.

Tobio’s sniffling slightly as he eats dinner, and he makes a mental note that he should take some medicine for that too before it gets worse. Halfway through his grilled meat, Shouyou suddenly stops talking and leaps to his feet in a hurry, rushing to grab some paper that he shoves at Tobio’s nose.

Tobio blinks in confusion; it takes him a full five seconds more to realise that there’s something dripping from his nose, and it’s not mucus.

“Kageyama, you’re bleeding!” Shouyou says, voice higher than normal. “You never get nosebleeds!”

Pulling the paper away from his nose, Tobio stares in bemusement at the red splotch of blood that’s formed, before taking another piece of paper from Shouyou to hold to his nose.

“Tilt your head up,” Shouyou says, and Tobio obeys, breathing through his mouth as he casts his gaze on Shouyou, who’s biting at the inside of his cheek in worry. It’s not a look Tobio likes to see him wear.

“I’ll be fine,” Tobio says. “It’s just a nosebleed.”

Shouyou’s quiet, which in and of itself is a rare enough sight. Tobio knows that The Incident has made Shouyou fret especially much over him whenever he falls ill, and that he’s having a nosebleed - which, in Tobio’s memory, has never happened before - certainly won’t reassure Shouyou at all.

Sighing lightly, he says, “Hey, Shou,” before reaching his free hand out to clasp Shouyou’s. “Let’s go to Kuroo tomorrow, alright?”

At the very least, that’ll give Shouyou some peace of mind.

* * *

 

Tobio’s head _really_ hurts. It’s just as well that Shouyou’s dragged him out to Kuroo’s house, because he feels like throwing up and he feels downright awful.

He doesn’t miss the worried glances that Shouyou’s throwing at him, but he’s feeling nauseous and it’s taking everything for him to not throw up as the carriage sways from side to side, bringing them across the town towards Kuroo’s house.

When they finally come to a complete stop at Kuroo’s house, the warlock is already there, waiting for them. Tobio wonders if Shouyou had sent a pigeon ahead of them to tell Kuroo, but the thought is pushed out of his mind when he steps onto the ground, one arm instinctively hooked around Shouyou’s shoulder for support, the rest of his body almost stumbling straight into Kuroo’s solid frame.

There’s a large hand around him, and Tobio faintly registers arms gripping him tightly and helping him across an inconceivably huge distance.

But then he staggers, the nausea becoming too much to bear as he ungracefully shoves Kuroo and Shouyou away from him, before bending over and throwing up a ways from the house, but still near the main road.

Oh, _god_ \- that’s awful. What an inconvenience to Kuroo. He’ll have to make it up to the warlock later. There’s the taste of iron in his mouth - and a frantic _Tobio!_ from Shouyou somewhere behind him.

His vision clears slightly, and he sees a huge red pool on the ground - _huh_ \- before everything goes dark.

* * *

 

He wakes up to the sound of Hinata and Kuroo talking some distance away from himself. Hinata’s saying something - he can make out a long string of words, among them “Paracetamol”. Then Kuroo says something else, and Hinata seemingly leaps to his feet, the sound of his footsteps pitter-pattering through the house before disappearing.

Tobio sits up, dimly noticing that he’s not in the same clothes that he remembers wearing when he left the house with Hinata. Kuroo’s by his side almost instantly, one hand flying to Tobio’s forehead as his brows crease with worry.

“Hinata,” Tobio rasps. He feels like someone’s sandpapered his throat.

“I sent him home to pick up all the medicine that Yakkun gave you,” Kuroo says, reaching over to pick up a glass of water from the bedside and handing it to Tobio. The water is blessedly cool as it trickles down his parched throat. “Are you hungry?”

Tobio shakes his head. His stomach still feels queasy.

“I tried to send a messenger to Fukurodani, because Kenma told me your blood smelled diseased, but things got,” Kuroo frowns, “complicated.”

Tobio cocks his head in confusion, and Kuroo sighs. “I sent a message to Bo through the realm guardians, but I don’t know how long they’ll take to get to him.“

“Realm guardians?” Tobio asks. He’s never heard of them before.

Kuroo nods, leaning back in the chair. “After the Faerie War when Itachiyama tried to invade Fukurodani - yeah, fifteen years ago - the realms agreed to instate realm guardians to guard their cities from invasion.

“Fukurodani and Itachiyama are on decent terms now, trying to rebuild and become allies, but realm guardians ensure that nobody will be able to incite war by invasion ever again.”

He pulls a long face, and adds, “It does means that trying to get messages and information from within becomes a bit more tedious, though, because the realm guardians have to double up as messengers.”

“Who are they?”

“The realm guardians?” Kuroo asks, one eyebrow raised. “I don’t know much, myself, but word has it that they’re immortals from the legendary clan, Dateko.”

“Oh,” Tobio says. That’s interesting. He’d like to see one of the guardians some day.

But his train of thought is abruptly halted when he coughs, harsh and hacking. It tears at his throat, makes him want to rip it out. Kuroo’s put a metal pan in front of him, and when Tobio pulls his hand away from his mouth, it’s covered with blood.

“What’s happening to me?” Tobio asks, a bit too calmly considering he’s just coughed up blood.

Kuroo shakes his head helplessly. “I’m no medic, Kageyama. Based on what Kenma said, it might be a disease of the blood, but I’m not sure - I think Yakkun left something that might be of use, so I’m hoping it works.”

Tobio nods, suddenly feeling exhausted. “Wake me up when Hinata’s back, please?”

“Of course,” Kuroo says. Tobio’s vision is starting to swim, so he lies back down and closes his eyes. The respite that sleep brings is surprisingly sweet.

* * *

 

It _hurts_. It hurts all over. His blood is boiling, he feels like he’s being eaten up from the inside out.

Tobio’s eyes fly open to find Shouyou hovering right above his face. He struggles to focus: Shouyou’s eyes are red, and his face is pale. He looks terrible.

“Sh-” he tries, and immediately breaks off coughing. The hand that he raises to his mouth comes away bloodied, again, and he notices to his horror that patches of his skin have turned reddish. “Whu’ hap’n-”

“Shh, Tobio, it’s okay,” Shouyou murmurs, but his hands tremble as they fumble with the bottle that he’s holding.

Through Tobio’s increasingly blurry vision, he sees a splotch of black appear, a voice - Kuroo - saying, “This should work, but it might be too l-”

“Don’t,” Shouyou says, his words ringing loud and clear in Tobio’s ears. It’s getting hard to keep his eyes open. “Don’t say it.”

Then, softer, he whispers, “Tobio, open your mouth for me.”

Tobio feels liquid slip down his throat right before everything goes black.

* * *

 

An indefinite amount of time later, Tobio regains consciousness. It’s still burning, everywhere. He moves a hand, and becomes aware of a stubborn warm weight pressing down onto his legs: Shouyou, slumped over in a chair and resting his head on Tobio.

The movement, however, startles Shouyou back to wakefulness, and he leaps to his feet immediately, letting go of the silver chain that he was clutching in his hand. “Tobio?” His voice is thin, and wavers ever so slightly.

Tobio manages to nod, ignoring the jolt of pain that shoots through him at the motion. “Ye-ah,” he says, forcing himself to crack a small smile.

Shouyou’s eyes are wide in the moonlight. Tobio thinks he can make out the faintest traces of dried tearstreaks on his cheeks.

“I tho-” Shouyou says, taking a deep breath. “I thought, g-god, Tobio-” his voice breaks on Tobio’s name, and then he’s howling, gripping the sheets that cover Tobio’s body. The sight sends a shudder of pain through Tobio, makes him feel like something’s slowly squeezing his heart, an ice-cold fist gripping him from the inside.

“Shh, Shouyou,” he hushes, shifting his hand so he can run it through Shouyou’s hair. Every inch of his body is still burning, but it’s nothing in comparison to the pain that’s engulfing his heart right now. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

Shouyou looks up, and glares at him. It would make for a funny sight, were tears not streaming from Shouyou’s eyes. “Don’t you dare, Tobio,” he says, and his voice is surprisingly steely, his gaze piercing. “Don’t you _dare_ leave me alone.”

Against all the fire in his blood, Tobio chokes on a laugh. “I won’t.”

Shouyou seems contented with that, and, shifting a bit, winds his fingers through Tobio’s own. His hand is warm; Tobio grips it tightly, imagining it to anchor him to the metaphorical ground.

Having Shouyou here, Tobio muses, is all that he needs.

With Shouyou so close to him, he feels a little stronger, a little better. Past the pain and agony, he murmurs in Shouyou’s ear: “Hey, Shouyou, I love you. I’ll get better soon.”

“I know, I love you too, Tobio,” Shouyou whispers. “You’d better get better by tomorrow or I’ll kick your ass.”

The harrumph that escapes his mouth hurts, but the watery smile on Shouyou’s face is worth it all.

* * *

 

He’s standing in the middle of a road. It’s evening; the sky is growing dark, the last of the sun just beginning to dip below the horizon.

Better to move in the direction of the sun, Tobio thinks. While he doesn’t exactly know where he is, staying here isn’t an option either.

He’s about to turn around when there’s a whisper somewhere near his ear. He can’t tell what it’s saying; despite the silence, the voice sounds muffled, as though he’s hearing it through a wall.

It’s probably trying to tell him something. Willing his stiff legs to move, he follows the sound. Leaves are rustling quietly in the wind, every step made loud by the gravel shifting underfoot.

The sun has almost fully set now - and suddenly Tobio feels like he’s sinking, like he’s being pulled in by quicksand or a whirlpool.

“Tobio!” he thinks he hears someone shout, but he can’t tell, because then it feels like water’s closing in overhead, and everything is dark.

* * *

 

Shouyou wakes up at the break of dawn. The sun is warm where it hits his skin, the light still dim in the early hours. There’s a cold breeze blowing: he must have forgotten to close the window again, he thinks as he reaches a searching hand towards Tobio. Then again, he doesn’t even remember falling asleep.

Tobio’s skin is still hauntingly pale - he looks a bit like a wax doll, Shouyou notes with slight worry. Beautiful and untouchable.

Worry fast turns to a churning sensation of dread as his hand freezes, jerking back of its own accord as he registers the coldness of Tobio’s skin.

No.

 _No_.

This cannot be happening.

Tobio promised him yesterday that he wouldn’t leave him alone. It’s not even been eight hours since then. Tobio _promised_ , he said he would be _fine_ , so why is his chest still and unmoving? Shouyou isn’t ready yet - there’s so much more that he’d wanted to do with Tobio, so many more places that he’d wanted them to go together. Hell, he’d just decided yesterday that once Tobio recovered, they’d go explore the faerie realms, that they’d go travel the far lands before Tobio really, really ran out of time -

He must have been making some noise, because he hears someone approach him from behind; on instinct, he lashes back - don’t touch me, don’t touch me, _don’t touch me-_ save him, save him, save _Tobio_ -

His throat is raw, his eyes are burning, his neck is on fire from the heavy weight that hangs on it, and he writhes and struggles as whoever is behind him holds him tightly. _Let me go, let me go to Tobio_ , he says- shouts- screams-

“He’s gone, Hinata,” someone says from beside his ear. “You can’t bring him back.”

* * *

 

**40th century**

Shouyou’s doing it again.

It, being:

Shouyou, sitting on their bed, leaning against the headboard with his pillow propping up his back. He’s winding a chain through his fingers, over and over, stopping occasionally to run his fingertips on the edges of the winged pendant that hangs on it.

It’s enchanted, the pendant. This, Kenma knows, because he has seen that pendant since the 18th century. It’s made of some kind of metal, and the delicate carvings on it should have long been eroded by time and Shouyou’s touch.

But it’s the 40th century, and the markings on the metal are still as clear as ever.

Usually, it’s left hanging around Shouyou’s neck. At times like this, however, Shouyou will lapse into one of these moods, where he’s quiet and looks at the pendant. They are few and far apart, these moods, and never seem to follow any specific pattern or schedule.

Kenma sometimes wonders what Shouyou thinks of when he slips into one of them - does he, in his heart, tell Kageyama about what he’s doing with his life? Or does he wonder if he could turn back time?

But Kenma, for his part, has learnt to leave Shouyou be. Some things aren’t meant for sharing, and this, Kenma supposes, is one of them.

Where he is right now, lying on his side of the bed, clicking at the buttons on his game console, fingers mere centimetres from touching Shouyou, is close enough.

The artificial sun hangs low outside, and the light is dim where it trickles into the room.

It is quiet.

**FIN**

**Author's Note:**

> _even when i'm alone, i'm not lonely;  
>  in my heart, you watch every single sunrise with me_
> 
> * * *
> 
> _i only pray that fate will bring you on a whole new journey_  
>  _towards the expanses of fortune and happiness_  
>  _don’t look back, just fly forwards_
> 
> * * *
> 
> Lyrics taken from [Afterwards](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0igPuDjYUE) by Rene Liu, [Watch the Sunrise with Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgwM-1SJqbg) by Joi Chua, and [I Won't Let You Be Alone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38lcQsEMGrk) by Mayday.
> 
> To clarify, Kageyama died of the [septicemic plague](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septicemic_plague), one of the rarest forms of plague. In medieval times, it was almost always fatal when untreated; the mortality rate in medieval times was 99-100 percent.
> 
> It was difficult to write this, for lack of a better descriptor, but I need to give full credit to [Gunny](http://osekksi.tumblr.com/) for coming up with the idea of - I quote, "Kageyama can ask Yaku how Hinata is in the future, and his heart will break even further because he knows there is a future for Hinata without him in it."
> 
> She's also the one who helped me with all the medical knowledge, and the one who kept me going all the way. If it wasn't for her I'd probably have given up halfway through the pain, cos it was really way too much.
> 
> Thank you also to [Tsucchi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsucchi/pseuds/Tsucchi) for all the support and encouragement!
> 
> A kudos or a comment would be much appreciated. If you enjoyed this, you might like to give the [previous story](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9164887) (Kuroyaku-focused) in this series a read as well! 
> 
> [tumblr (rielity)](https://rielity.tumblr.com/) | [twitter (noyabeans)](https://twitter.com/noyabeans)


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